This invention relates to nonwoven fabrics for use in garments, personal care products and infection control products.
In the case of items to be worn like, for example, gowns, the softness, drape and conformability are important considerations. Softness, at least for the side against the wearer, is an important consideration to avoid skin irritaton. Softness becomes more of an issue for longer term usage such as in the case of a surgical gown which may be worn for a period of hours. Conformability is the degree to which a fabric will adapt itself to the shape of an object it is covering. A highly conformable fabric, for example will adapt itself well to a wearer's body and as a result will not feel stiff. A stiff fabric is, of course, to be avoided when designing a comfortable garment. One measure of the conformability of a fabric is the drape stiffness.
A fabric for these application must also have the ability to stretch and recover from such stretching or deformation and must also be breathable so as not to inhibit skin comfort.
It is an object of this invention to provide a nonwoven fabric which may be used in garments and infection control products and which is breathable while having good softness, drape and conformability.